Cocoa futures in London hit 1-1/2 year lows on Monday, with New York futures just shy of previous three-year lows, driven by bearish supply news as the main crop moves to the mid crop.
March London cocoa hit 1,902 pounds a tonne, levels last seen in April 2015. It traded down 20 pounds, or 1 percent, at 1,906 pounds at 1259 GMT.
London December cocoa traded at a discount to March of 30 pounds, with dealers noting the wide spread could imply a lack of nearby demand.
Continued strong arrivals at ports in top cocoa producer Ivory Coast, and news that exports from Indonesian island Sulawesi more than doubled in November from a year ago weighed on cocoa.
"There were fears of problems in the start of the new crop season. Those have not materialised and have gone into reverse," said a cocoa broker. "We are now focusing off the main and into the mid crop, potentially a very very good crop."
After taking their biggest short position on cocoa since August 2012 on Nov. 18, speculators slightly scaled back bearish bets in cocoa futures by 1,481 lots to 8,973 lots in the week to Nov. 29, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday.
New York March cocoa futures traded down $22 or 0.92 percent, at $2,373 a tonne. On Friday, the contract touched the lowest since August 2013 at $2,342.
Hotly contested elections in Ghana on Dec. 7 will be watched by the cocoa market for any impact on exports from the world's second largest producer.
In sugar, March raws fell 0.16 cent, or 0.84 percent, to 18.97 cents per lb, having slipped on Friday to 18.88 cents, the weakest since Aug. 4. The spot contract closed down last week for the eighth straight week.
Weighing on sugar, the Brazilian real was down around 0.5 percent against the dollar, while funds continued to focus on the prospect of a rebound in global production in the 2017/18 season.
"Many funds probably still want to go long. We (could) have a few bullish triggers but only in late 2017. I see the market coming down in the next couple of months. The real is weakening, it looks like a good moment to sell," said Rabobank analyst Carlos Mera.
March white sugar slumped $1.7, or 0.33 percent, to $507.70 per tonne, having hit a six-month low on Friday.
Speculators reduced a net long or 'buy' stance in sugar to the lowest since April last week, the CFTC data showed, while also cutting a net long in arabica coffee for a third straight week.
In coffee, March arabica edged up 1.5 cent, or 1 percent, to $1.473 per lb. It closed down for the fourth straight week last week.
March robusta rose $13, or 0.64 percent, to $2,056 per tonne.
© Reuters News
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